e yonder
Natalie Marsh tests out new resort Varu by Atmosphere and sister hotel, Kanifushi, on her first trip to the Maldives
DESTINATIONS MALDIVES | INDIAN OCEAN
m
y eyes dart frantically across the surface of the
water. Suddenly, spiralling up from the waves, I see one – my first glimpse of a spinner dolphin. There’s one, then another, and within seconds the calm waters are disturbed by dozens of them. They’re all around us. Dolphins swim gracefully either side of the boat, mothers and babies jumping in unison. Some are zigzagging up front, using the boat to chase them, while behind, more tail us and jump over the waves to our cheers of delight. We’re all completely awestruck. We came across this pod of dolphins unexpectedly, on our speedboat ride back to Atmosphere Kanifushi Maldives after a snorkelling trip off the island’s shores.
Our snorkelling guides took us
straight to the spot where they’d seen a manta ray that morning. These creatures can measure a whopping 25 feet in diameter and the thought of sharing the water with them felt a little unsettling at
first, until I discovered they were harmless. They’re curious creatures and one glided gracefully right beside us as we floated across the surface of the water. A manta ray and a pod of dolphins? All in a morning’s work here in the Maldives.
WELCOME TO THE MALDIVES There’s a warm welcome, and then there’s a Maldivian welcome. We pulled up to the brand-new island resort of Varu by Atmosphere – sister resort to Kanifushi – to the sound of staff beating boduberu drums in an infectious rhythm and blowing conch shells to signal our arrival. Varu by Atmosphere opened in October last year and is the latest addition to the hotel group’s portfolio. It’s in the North Malé Atoll, just 40 minutes by speedboat from Malé international airport.
It didn’t take long to get our bearings here – the island’s small size means it’s easy to navigate and nowhere is more than a
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